Fat Pad Syndrome: Barefoot or shoe implant/heel cup? page

[andreasnellmon]

Hi!

My wife has something called fat pad syndrome (Fat Pad Syndrome), a mild form of it. She got it several years back but didn't know what is was until recently.

We have looked into what do to about it and we are confused about what to do. On one end there are people saying that we need to go see a specialist and have a shoe implant or a heel cup made. On the other end, there are people who say going barefoot is the solution because that will make the foot build up it's muscles.

Barefoot is something that resonates with us but doing it on hard surfaces still feels like it may damage the heel…

My wife also suffers from a knee injury called Chondromalacia Patellae (Chondromalacia patellae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), which she is recovering from. We believe that this injury might affect the choice of whether to go barefoot or with a shoe implant.

What's your take on fat pad syndrome? Is barefoot always the better alternative or are shoe implants the way to go? Or should we do both and switch method depending on the surface and the activity (keeping the knee injury in mind)?

Barefoot or shoe implant when walking on soft/hard surfaces?
Barefoot or shoe implant when running on soft/hard surfaces?
Barefoot or shoe implant when jumping on soft/hard surfaces?

Short about my wife: she is 25 years old, thin and quite fit. Her feet are in quite good shape too since she loves going barefoot.

Thanks for any information and advice you can give us!

Varm regards
Andreas

[primalrob]

huh, i think i might have this too. one of my heels has had a deep and persistent, but not continuous, pain since i jumped into a mud puddle wearing my vibrams. neat.

IMO, barefoot or minimalist footwear is the way to go. don't worry about the heel striking hard surfaces; the heel shouldn't be striking at all with barefoot running. it may kiss the ground on each step, but the foot landing should be mid-sole or on the ball of the foot. all that heel striking in regular running shoes may be what caused the heel and knee problems in the first place.
there are plenty of minimalist options out there right now, made for various running surfaces.

[Dragonfly]

For walking on hard surfaces, I am going with a more cushioned shoe ( not a runner! ). I dance barefoot weekly and am barefoot most of the day at home, but city walking is not so great with my minimalist shoes. YMMV.

[andreasnellmon]

Thanks for your input! We tried taping her heels today and it helped a lot with the pain in the heel. Will do that for a few days and we will go buy a good barefoot shoe and a cushioned one as well (for walking).

Thanks again

[Shalimar]

Best for her to stay off it as much as possible til it heals.

My experience with plantar fasciitis-(yes I read the article and am not confusing the two problems) is that limping around with one sore foot leads to knee injury, then the other foot gets it, ankles and hips get stressed, etc. leading to a world of pain. Finally I stayed off the feet and got better quickly. Resting is what the article recommends and I'd stick with that. Orthotics help some people but I found they often created other problems. If she does get a heel cup, make sure she gets one for each foot and does not favor one foot above the other. Good luck, it is no fun having a sore foot.